ORLANDO, Fla. -- James Harden found his 3-point shooting touch -- again.

Harden scored 54 points, matching the team record of 10 3-pointers he set in Houston's last game in the Rockets' 130-107 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday night.

"I just want to win," Harden said simply. "Whatever it takes."

Harden scored 50 or more for the fifth time this season and the fourth time in his last seven games. The rest of the NBA has combined for only five such games this season.

Harden was 10 of 15 from long range and 19 of 31 overall from the field. He also had a seven assists, five rebounds and two steals in 36 minutes, receiving a loud ovation from the Orlando crowd when he headed to the bench in the final minutes.

"I feel like we lost against just him tonight," Magic guard Evan Fournier said. "He's the MVP for a reason. We talked about in pregame that he'll take shots, and we'll just live with the results. He did not miss tonight, period."

Harden set the Houston record for 3-pointers with 10 in 18 attempts Wednesday night in a 55-point game in a victory at Cleveland.

"When he's shooting over the top like that, I don't know what you can do," Orlando coach Steve Clifford said.

Russell Westbrook added 23 points for Houston. The Rockets were 22 of 39 from 3-point range, setting a record for the most 3-pointers by any Magic opponent in franchise history.

"We just shot the ball extremely well," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said. "When James is like that, it's hard for anybody to really beat us -- no matter what kind of defense you're going to throw, we've got guys."

The Rockets pulled away in the second quarter, with Harden scoring 18 points, including Houston's last 11 for a 59-49 lead.

Fournier led Orlando with 27 points. Aaron Gordon added 21. The Magic have lost three straight after winning four in a row.

TIP-INS:

Rockets: Beat the Magic for the 12th time in the last 15 meetings. ... Holds four of the top five spots for most made 3-pointers by a team this season. ... D'Antoni said he assumes his team will play Saturday without Westbrook, who sat out the second game of both of Houston's previous back-to-backs this season.

Magic: Orlando was without C Nikola Vucevic for the 11th consecutive game because of a right ankle injury. ... G Markelle Fultz returned after missing Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers with a stomach virus. ... The Magic held their annual charity golf tournament Thursday to benefit the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation. More than $200,000 was raised.

UP NEXT:

Rockets: Host Detroit on Saturday night.

Magic: At New Orleans on Sunday.

COLUMBUS, Ind. – Another new face has joined the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports roster for the upcoming Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, this time in the form of Presley Truedson.

Truedson, 17, will make her third attempt at the Chili Bowl when she straps in Jan. 13-18 inside the River Spirit Expo Center, but it will be her first time in a KKM-prepared entry.

The Kennedy, Minn., native will pilot the No. 71x from the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian stable.

“I am super grateful for this opportunity to run for Keith and all of KKM,” said Truedson. “I cannot thank Jack Irving and Toyota Racing enough for everything they’ve done in putting this together. Keith and Pete have a pretty great track record at this event, so I’m looking forward to learning from them.”

While the Chili Bowl will be Truedson’s first time under the Kunz banner, she is no stranger to midget racing. Truedson is a regular contender with the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League, tending to her craft since she first stepped into the seat several years back.

“We’ve had our eyes on Presley for a few years now,” noted team owner Keith Kunz. “Racing against her in POWRi, we’ve been able to watch her compete every night for some time now. This will be a great opportunity for her and we’re excited to see where this development takes her.”

Truedson becomes the latest of a currently-scheduled eight entries for the KKM squad in Tulsa, joining previously-announced teammates Rico Abreu, Tucker Klaasmeyer, Cannon McIntosh and Holley Hollan.

The remainder of the KKM lineup will be confirmed at a later date.

COSTA MESA, Calif. – MotoAmerica has announced that Suzuki Motor of America has reached an agreement with Team Hammer to become its official team in the MotoAmerica Series.

In addition to its continued participation in Supersport and Twins Cup, Team Hammer will now field Suzuki’s premier Superbikes and add the Stock 1000 class to its list.

The team enters the series as Team Hammer Suzuki, while riders for each class will be announced later.

Suzuki and Team Hammer have a long history together. With more than 30 years of valued partnership, Suzuki and Team Hammer have clinched numerous victories.

Most recently, M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong became the MotoAmerica Supersport Champion aboard a GSX-R600, while Roadracing World Young Gun Alex Dumas took the Twins Cup title on an SV650 this past season.

Team Hammer Suzuki is looking to build off that momentum and add more victories to the list as the team is set to field Suzuki’s premier Superbike team.

“We’re very happy that Suzuki is continuing its support of the MotoAmerica Series,” said MotoAmerica President Wayne Rainey. “Suzuki has been with us from the beginning and has continued to use our series to both develop and sell their motorcycles. Congratulations also to Team Hammer. That team has worked hard, has been a fixture in racing for a long, long time and has shown the ability to win lots of championships.

“We know that Suzuki will be in good hands at the race track in 2020 and beyond.”

In 2020, Team Hammer will celebrate its 40th consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. In addition to a decorated list of accomplishments in various national and international championships, Team Hammer’s success at the AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National level is exceptional.

To date, riders on bikes prepared and fielded by the team have earned an accumulated seven AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National titles while racking up 83 race victories and 234 podium finishes in MotoAmerica Superbike, MotoAmerica Supersport, MotoAmerica Twins Cup, AMA Formula Xtreme, AMA 750cc Supersport, and AMA Pro Daytona Sportbike racing.

Along with a record of preparing, developing, and fielding championship-caliber equipment, Team Hammer is known for its ability to identify and foster talent, whether it be up-and-coming riders, overlooked international riders, or established veterans looking to reignite their careers.

Kevin Schwantz, Ben Spies, Scott Russell, Josh Hayes, Jamie James, John Hopkins, and Thomas Stevens are among many who have ridden Team Hammer-tuned Suzuki race bikes at the start of their professional careers.

After over 40 years together, Yoshimura R&D will no longer field Suzuki Superbikes.

Yoshimura will remain an important partner for marketing and R&D efforts for Suzuki, but with a different focus, and will continue to build upon their strong business relationship moving forward, according to a release from Suzuki.

Don Sakakura, President of Yoshimura R&D, was quick to expand on the unparalleled relationship between Suzuki and Yoshimura that spanned some four decades.

“Yoshimura’s partnership with Suzuki has been instrumental to our core business the past 41 years,” said Sakakura. “As a team, we accomplished tremendous racing milestones, leaving behind many special celebrations, as well as setbacks. Personally, it has been a true privilege to have worked closely with management and staff at Suzuki. The friendships I’ve developed will carry over my lifetime. Notably, the engineering team at Suzuki’s Japan headquarters has been extremely significant in our successes over the years.”

Suzuki echoed Sakakura’s comments and thanked Yoshimura for its contribution to 212 race wins and 14 championships in the AMA Superbike class, the most of any manufacturer.

Kerry Graeber, Suzuki’s vice president of sales and marketing stated that the Suzuki Yoshimura relationship remains strong.

“Though Yoshimura won’t be operating our road racing team moving forward, we look forward to continuing together in many other aspects of our business.”

Graeber noted that Yoshimura remains integral with JGR/Suzuki, the company’s supercross/motocross race team, as well as several sales and marketing programs.

Graeber sees that not only continuing, but also possibly expanding.

The Internationals are failing to yield at this 13th Presidents Cup, and the U.S. enters Saturday afternoon's foursomes session trailing by four points, 9-5.

After sitting the morning fourball session, American playing captain Tiger Woods won't play for a second straight session, despite being 2-0, as Team USA looks to close the gap before Sunday's singles. Meanwhile, Abraham Ancer will go out for a fourth straight session as the rookie looks to move to 4-0.

Here is a look at the four matchups for the final team session at Royal Melbourne:

• Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland (U.S.) vs. Louis Oosthuizen/Adam Scott, 9:56 p.m. ET
• Justin Thomas/Rickie Fowler (U.S.) vs. Marc Leishman/Abraham Ancer, 10:07 p.m. ET
• Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) vs. Cameron Smith/Sungjae Im, 10:18 p.m. ET
• Matt Kuchar/Tony Finau (U.S.) vs. Ben An/Joaquin Niemann, 10:29 p.m. ET

USC officials acknowledged Friday that the university has received a notice of allegations from the NCAA regarding alleged violations in its men's basketball program.

Sources previously told ESPN that USC was one of several Division I programs under investigation by the NCAA because of alleged rules violations that surfaced during two recent federal criminal cases in the Southern District of New York.

In a statement on Friday, USC officials said the notice of allegations was "related to a former coach in the men's basketball program."

Former Trojans assistant coach Tony Bland pleaded guilty in January to one felony count of conspiracy to commit bribery, admitting he accepted $4,100 in cash to steer players at the school to certain financial advisers and business managers once they turned pro.

"USC has cooperated with the NCAA since it first became aware of the issues raised in the Notice of Allegations," the statement said. "Because the notice involves a pending NCAA case, USC is unable to discuss any of the allegations in or facts relating to the case. USC looks forward to an expeditious resolution of this matter."

USC is the fourth Division I program to receive an NCAA notice of allegations related to the federal investigation, joining Kansas, NC State and Oklahoma State. Sources previously told ESPN that Arizona, Auburn, Creighton, Louisville and LSU were also under scrutiny by NCAA investigators.

Bland and three other former Division I assistant coaches -- Arizona's Emanuel "Book" Richardson, Auburn's Chuck Person and Oklahoma State's Lamont Evans -- were among 10 men arrested by federal agents in September 2017 following a two-year clandestine investigation into bribes and other corruption in college basketball.

In January 2018, USC suspended guard De'Anthony Melton for the entire season after determining a close family friend received an extra benefit. That friend, Dave Elliott, allegedly took a plane ticket and possibly payment for a hotel room at a basketball event in Las Vegas, according to Melton's attorney, Vicki Podberesky. Melton withdrew from the school the next month and turned pro. He was a second-round pick of the Phoenix Suns in the 2018 NBA draft and currently plays for the Memphis Grizzlies.

In June, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos sentenced Bland to 100 hours of community service and two years' probation. During the sentencing, Ramos said the debate over whether college basketball players should be paid "plays no role in the way I thought about this case."

LAS VEGAS -- Jon Jones' jump to the heavyweight division could happen sooner rather than later, and possibly as early as after his next title defense.

Jones, the UFC light heavyweight champion, said at a news conference Friday that it was a "very strong possibility" he will move divisions after fighting Dominick Reyes in the main event of UFC 247 on Feb. 8 in Houston.

"I think it's a very strong possibility -- absolutely," Jones said at a UFC 247 news conference. "Absolutely. There's always gonna be someone next [at light heavyweight]. I feel as if I've cleared the division and I'm waiting around and I'm taking on new challenges. I'm not sitting on the title; I'm not hiding from anybody. I chose Dominick because he appears to be the best out of all of my contenders. And I'm just ready to take over the world, man. Really."

Jones (25-1, 1 NC), arguably the best MMA fighter of all time, beat Thiago Santos to retain the belt at UFC 239 on July 6. After that, he said he considered moving up to heavyweight and was trying to get a bout with heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. Miocic beat Daniel Cormier to regain the UFC heavyweight belt at UFC 241 in August. The third Miocic-Cormier fight is expected for sometime in the first half of 2020.

"After the Thiago Santos fight, I was at a place where I wanted to start entertaining the heavyweight division," Jones said. "I've been wrestling my brother [former NFL offensive lineman Arthur Jones] my whole life. I've been [training] with Andrei Arlovski and [Alistair] Overeem and all these big guys my whole career, and I've always done well. At 240, I move just as fast as I do at light heavyweight. My versatility I realize is not things most heavyweights would do -- spinning things, flying knees. Things like that. I feel really good. I think the timing is gonna be really close. I wouldn't be surprised if it happened [in 2020]."

Reyes, a southpaw slugger from California, is undefeated and ranked No. 4 by ESPN among light heavyweights. Jones said right now he's walking at 230 pounds with a six-pack, and he's confident that he'll not only make 205 pounds but do so while at a physical peak.

"I feel like I'm gonna be bigger than Dominick, just more athletic, more hungry, more out prove, more on the line," Jones said. "This s--- means so much to me. This is my life, dude. I'm gonna get him."

LOS ANGELES -- Clayton Kershaw was uncommonly vulnerable on the night of Oct. 9, in the aftermath of an National League Division Series elimination by the Washington Nationals.

Kershaw entered Game 5 with two outs and a two-run lead in the seventh inning. He struck out Adam Eaton, came back out for the eighth and surrendered back-to-back, game-tying home runs to Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto. Later, after watching the Nats take the lead for good with a four-run 10th inning, Kershaw sounded particularly defeated. He talked, somberly, about disappointing his teammates and stated that "everything people say is true right now about the postseason," a nod to his infamous October struggles.

Nine weeks later, while attending a holiday party for about 300 children at Dodger Stadium on Friday, Kershaw was appreciably more upbeat. He had trimmed his beard, had seemingly lost some weight, and had acquired a fresh perspective.

"You have two options: You can either just kind of crawl into a hole, or you can move on and try to get better for the next year," he said. "I don't want to crawl into a hole yet, so I'm going to try to get better for the next year."

Kershaw, noticeably in decline but still considerably effective, is still a central figure for a Dodgers franchise that has won seven consecutive division titles but is now more than three decades removed from a World Series title. The NLDS elimination in 2019 followed consecutive World Series defeats in 2017 and 2018. The first of those was to the Houston Astros, who have been accused by former players -- including Mike Fiers, who spoke publicly about it -- of using technology to steal opponents' signs and relay them to hitters.

Kershaw, who blew two leads of three or more runs in Game 5 from Minute Maid Park, said he was "a little shocked" by the revelations.

"When the team and the players are doing what they can on the field to get the signs, that's obviously part of the game," Kershaw said. "But when technology comes into play, if that is really true, it sucks. Unless we get to win the World Series, I don't really care what the punishment is. But it does suck, no matter what."

Kershaw hadn't been keeping tabs on the offseason activity throughout Major League Baseball until the winter meetings took place and major moves were made earlier this week. The Dodgers were aggressive in their pursuit of former Astros ace Gerrit Cole but watched him sign a nine-year, $324 million contract with the New York Yankees. The Dodgers reportedly offered an eight-year, $300 million deal and believed Cole's decision ultimately came down to him wanting to play for the Yankees, the team for which he grew up rooting.

Kershaw never called to recruit him.

"We would've loved to have him here," Kershaw said, "but that deal was pretty impressive for him."

The Dodgers were active throughout the winter meetings, but came away with only Blake Treinen, a hard-throwing reliever who constitutes a reclamation project. They have been linked to longtime San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, whom Kershaw said he is quite fond of, and could also re-sign free agent Hyun-Jin Ryu to give them another arm for the top of their rotation. The Dodgers have uncommon depth at almost every position, but would like to add the type of elite-level players who tend to make an even greater impact during short postseason series.

After losing to the Boston Red Sox in the 2018 World Series, Kershaw said the Dodgers' shortcomings weren't indicative of any holes on their roster; they simply needed to perform better in October.

Now?

"It's such a hard question for me to answer just because, bluntly, in the postseason, if I pitch better, we probably are better," Kershaw said. "It's not an easy question for me to answer. But we're in a great spot again. We have a great team."

TULSA, Okla. – Reigning POWRi Engler Machine & Tool Outlaw Micro League champion Gunner Ramey has landed a ride with Jack Yeley for the upcoming Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.

Ramey, from Sedalia, Mo., will pilot the No. 0G Ripper-Fontana owned by Yeley, the father of USAC Triple Crown champion J.J. Yeley, in his debut appearance at the Chili Bowl.

The 17-year-old will have support from Glenn Styres Racing, Ohsweken Speedway, Jeff Taylor and Enriam Dynamics as he competes against an all-star cast of midget racers and contends for rookie-of-the-year honors in the crown jewel event.

Next month’s Chili Bowl will mark just Ramey’s second-ever start in a midget car.

“I’m chomping at the bit to get started,” said Ramey. “It has been a pretty crazy year, with the (micro) championship and winning that. That was a really cool accomplishment and we had a very good year within the micros, so this is really the next step and felt like the right move for me. It’s definitely very high quality equipment, and there will be a lot of knowledge and a lot of good people around me.

“I’m very excited to get going with it and see what we can make out of it.”

Ramey didn’t win a race this season in POWRi Outlaw Micro competition, but he did compile perfect attendance across the 17-race schedule and scored 12 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes along the way, defeating runner-up Joe B. Miller by 370 points in the final tally.

Winning the championship was a big boost to his efforts of finding a Chili Bowl ride, said Ramey.

“We had a really good year and really consistent year, and a lot of people saw that, I think,” Ramey noted. “It kind of helps when you’re going into something like this, to be able to say that you won a national championship. That kind of adds to your resume a little bit.

“Honestly, I really wasn’t planning on running the Chili Bowl, just because as far as working on stuff for next year, I didn’t really want to go in and say, ‘Hey, let’s drop seven or eight grand for a good Chili Bowl ride,’” Ramey continued. “But myself and my dad and Jeff (Taylor, from Rockwell Security) worked on this and then got involved with Jack and Judy Yeley and talked to them a lot … and we just kind of got working on it.

“Fortunately I was able to work the deal out with all of them to make a Chili Bowl ride happen.”

Ramey’s debut midget start came at Lake Ozark Speedway in his home state on May 26, during a POWRi National Midget League and POWRi Western Midget League co-sanctioned event.

Though he only finished 15th in that race, Ramey caught Taylor’s eye and seeds for the future were planted.

“I guess Jeff liked what he saw in me there and after that, we got in contact with him and just stayed in regular contact with him,” explained Ramey. “I’ve used him as a soundboard or a resource, you know, just to throw ideas at him and talk to him for advice and stuff like that as far as the racing business goes. That’s been the biggest thing for me with Jeff, has been talking to him about the racing business and how to go about everything on that side. He’s taught me a lot there.”

While Ramey wants to win like any other driver, he knows that going into an event like the Chili Bowl Nationals, he has to pace himself and keep his goals realistic as he enters the week-long sojourn.

“I’m a little bit nervous, but I’m definitely excited,” Ramey said of his impending Chili Bowl debut. “It’s one of those deals where for me, obviously I want to do the best I can, but at the same time I look at it and go, ‘Well, we need to set attainable goals and just go into it really focused on just getting better every time we’re on the track.’ I want to make some good laps. I don’t need to go in there thinking I’m going to win the thing. Everyone wants to win, but you have to set realistic goals.

“For us, I think we can make the prelim night A-main, and I just want to pass cars every time we’re on the track and get better every time we hit the track,” Ramey added. “If we can make some good laps and consistent laps, and hopefully if we pass some cars every time we’re on the track and we can make the prelim night A-main, then we can put ourselves in a solid position for success. I think that’s definitely a big thing in itself. If we can get there and pass some cars and do the best we can to set us up for Saturday, then they’ll know we’re there and it would be a really great week for us in Tulsa.

“But like I said, my biggest goal is making the main on my prelim night and going from there.”

The 34th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals takes place Jan. 13-18 inside the River Spirit Expo Center in Tulsa, Okla. Christopher Bell is the three-time defending winner of the event.